New U.S. $1 coin honors Wampanoag

Saturday

PLYMOUTH — Kerri Boardley-Helme was holding 7-month-old Ezra and clutching the hand of 5-year-old Pharoah as they stood in line to grab a piece of Wampanoag history on Friday.

PLYMOUTH — Kerri Boardley-Helme was holding 7-month-old Ezra and clutching the hand of 5-year-old Pharoah as they stood in line to grab a piece of Wampanoag history on Friday.

"It's important for them to be here today to support their people," said Boardley-Helme, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

At a ceremony held at Plimoth Plantation, with hundreds of people packed inside a meeting room and dozens more outside peering in through the windows, the U.S. Mint unveiled the 2011 Native American $1 coin — a shiny, gold-colored piece that symbolizes the 1621 Wampanoag Treaty.

"This is a good day in history for the Wampanoag, and I'm glad my daughter and I were there to be a part of it," Winnie Johnson-Graham, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, said after the ceremony.

The coins depict the image of Sacagawea on the head's side, with the tail's side showing the image of two arms extended — one representing Ousamequin, the Wampanoag's Massasoit, or supreme sachem, extending a peace pipe to Plymouth Gov. John Carver.

Jim Adams, senior historian at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, called Ousamequin a "great diplomat."

The coin is the third in an annual series by the U.S. Mint paying tribute to Native Americans.

"This commemoration is an opportunity to reflect on the Wampanoag Treaty, and the peace and respect that existed between the Wampanoag nation and the settlers at the time, and the ideal that this treaty represented," said Cedric Cromwell, tribal chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag.

Cromwell and Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), shared the dais, but both acknowledged that the Wampanoag nation is made up of many more bands throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Though the coin represents a peace accord between Indians and the settlers, Andrews-Maltais cautioned against sugarcoating the "atrocities" and "oppression" that the Wampanoag tribes endured. "I am hopeful that this coin will mark a new effort of truth and understanding of our history," she said.

Plimoth Plantation, a history museum that features depictions of both Pilgrim and Wampanoag life, consulted on the coin project.

Linda Coombs, a member of the Aquinnah tribe, worked with the U.S. Mint, though she was not at Friday's ceremony.

As part of the ceremony, Eastern Suns pounded their drums in traditional song with Cromwell joining them in the circle. Jessie "Little Doe" Baird offered prayer in the native Wôpanâak language.

"I call on all of us to be inspired by the spirit of peace, mutual respect and mutual responsibility depicted on this coin," Cromwell said.

"We have a long way to go to live up to this ideal, but we must move forward as partners, so that we may lift all of our people up and thrive as nations together."

"It's a little late, but effective and appreciated by Native American people," Albert "Seawolf" Curtis, chief of the Chappaquiddick Wampanoag, said of the coin.

Others, like Barbara "White Eagle" Toney of the Pokanoket Wampanoag, were upset the coin wasn't more representative of Ousamequin.

"It's all a lie," she said. "Massasoit was a Pokanoket."

The crowd included state leaders such as Senate President Therese Murray, state Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, and the Mashpee tribe's newly-hired lobbyist, former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt.

There were also a number of coin collectors and folks who just wanted to share in the historical moment.

"I'm just so excited that the spirit of this harkens to the first desire of peace among people," said Steven Karidoyanes, conductor of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra.

"It excites me, humbles me and gives me hope for future peace."

Coins were available for purchase and people lined up for them — some going through the line two or three times to purchase more than the $5, single-sale limit. Children under 18 were given a single coin for free.

In all, the U.S. Mint gave away 175 coins to children and sold more than $5,000 worth, a spokeswoman said.

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